As Long as You're Here
by flipomatic
Summary: Lisa, last to receive the music, accepted the paper from Yukina with a smile. The title: Hidamari Rhodonite. The bass line looked pretty straight forward with a few challenging areas. Lyrics were written in between the lines, and at first glance they looked different from Roselia's usual message. That was ok though, since Lisa knew Yukina could make any lyrics sound amazing.


So this is based on the performance in the first live, when Yukina's seiyuu brought Lisa's seiyuu to the center of the stage during this song. I watched it yesterday and was inspired. I've also picked and chosen the part of the song I wanted. I'm not actually sure which part comes after the music break.

Song translation from ejtranslations 2017/10/01/bang-dream-hidamari-rhodonite/

* * *

When Lisa arrived at band practice all seemed the same as normal, or at least close enough to normal. Yukina had been a little distracted at school that day, but Lisa assumed it was about their upcoming exams. Sayo beat the rest to the studio as usual, already strumming away at a complicated guitar lick when Yukina and Lisa entered the room. Somehow, even though they attended different schools, Ako and Rinko arrived together shortly after.

Lisa greeted the two after Sayo finished scolding them for their tardiness. She tuned her bass, using a tuner to make sure to make sure the sound was perfect. Unlike Sayo, Lisa couldn't tune by ear.

As she placed the tuner back in the bag, she felt that indescribable feeling that someone was watching her. Lisa turned towards the source, grey eyes meeting gold.

Across the room, with a small stack of papers grasped between her hands, Yukina gazed in Lisa's direction. Her grip tightened minutely on the papers as their eyes met, and Lisa wondered if she'd startled her. Yukina's expression was neutral, as she usually was, but her eyes seemed to glimmer with a different light. Lisa couldn't look away.

A moment passed. It felt oddly… tense, even as Ako and Rinko chatted loudly about demons nearby.

Lisa forced a grin on her face, dissipating the moment. The corner of Yukina's mouth twitched up in response, which was as good as a smile for her. As Lisa turned back to her case, wondering what had just happened, Yukina started to speak.

"Everyone," She spoke quietly, and the other chatter in the room immediately stopped. "The new song is ready." Her hands lifted slightly, gesturing with what Lisa assumed was the new sheet music.

"How exciting!" Ako practically leapt from her drums to be the first there. "Right Rin-rin?"

"Y-yes." Rinko agreed softly, a few paces behind Ako. Yukina handed them each their parts silently. Lisa approached as well, standing next to Sayo to receive the bass music.

Sayo merely frowned down at the piece, retreating back to her guitar to start practicing without a word.

Lisa, last to receive the music, accepted the paper from Yukina with a smile. The title: Hidamari Rhodonite. The bass line looked pretty straight forward with a few challenging areas. Lyrics were written in between the lines, and at first glance they looked different from Roselia's usual message. That was ok though, since Lisa was confident that Yukina could make any lyrics sound amazing.

When she looked up from the sheet, Yukina was still standing in the same spot, looking at Lisa the same way as earlier.

"Looks great Yukina!" Lisa gave her honest opinion, hopefully assuring her friend of the song's excellence. "I'm gonna get started on practicing it."

Yukina nodded, her expression unchanging. "Ok."

"Let's try it as a group in an hour." Lisa suggested, looking around at the group as they nodded in agreement. With that settled, she walked back to her case to set up a music stand. They didn't use them often, only when there was new music to learn.

Lisa set her stand up and began practicing. She checked the time signature and key signature, as well as the tempo. It was at a moderate speed, which she checked with the tuner. With the tempo in mind, Lisa started to play.

As she thought, the bass line was manageable. She wouldn't have too much trouble learning to play this song. The lyrics, on the other hand, seemed odder and odder to her the more she read them. They sounded so sentimental, so sweet.

They sounded like… Lisa's fingers slipped on neck of her bass, creating a weird sliding sound. They sounded like someone in love. Did Yukina really write these lyrics?

She had to have; Yukina never would've taken lyrics from outside of the band and if someone in the band had helped write this, Lisa would've already heard about it. Nobody else could've written them.

Was Yukina in love with someone? Lisa's fingers slipped again, earning her a glare from Sayo. It certainly sounded that way. Only a love song would talk about 'overflowing feelings' and their 'kind person'. Lisa's next inhale felt tight in her chest. How could Yukina not have told her?

She didn't have too much time to dwell on the thought, since the hour for individual practice was up. Sayo called Lisa over to the group, and she moved her stand into formation. Once set up, they practiced as a group for the next few hours. They were able to get the song well together for the first day of practice.

"Our studio time is a-almost up for the day." Rinko reminded the group when it was time to go. Yukina seemed pleased with the progress on the song so far, so they packed up to actually leave on time.

As Lisa packed up, the thoughts from earlier still haunted her. The question of who the song was about bounced around in her head.

"Ready?" Yukina approached almost silently, appearing by Lisa's elbow.

Lisa shook her head, still lost in her own thoughts. "Sorry, I need to stay here for a bit. See you later?"

"Ok." Yukina's gaze was unreadable as she agreed, following Ako and Rinko out the door. Sayo had played for a couple more minutes after practice ended, so she was still left packing up. She had hefted her guitar case on her shoulder by the time Lisa gathered her thoughts.

"Hey, Sayo." Lisa called to Sayo before the other girl could exit. "Do you have a few minutes to talk about the new song?"

"Absolutly!" Sayo looked happier than she had all day as she approached Lisa. "I was hoping you would ask for my help with this. Especially the solo near the end." She stopped next to Lisa to look at the music, which Lisa hadn't put away yet.

"It's not about that." Lisa waved one hand in a dismissive manner. "Actually, I was wondering about the lyrics. Do you think Yukina is in love?"

"Oh." Sayo scrunched up her eyebrows, leaning away. "Well, I can't help you with that." That was an odd response, Lisa thought, but Sayo often said odd things.

"She hasn't said anything to me." Lisa fidgeted with her guitar case. "So I thought maybe she told you?" The second sentence came out more like a question.

"This has nothing to do with the music." Sayo deadpanned, clearly knowing nothing about the topic.

Lisa gave a halfhearted chuckle. "I guess I was wrong." She tried not to seem disappointed as she pat Sayo on the shoulder before walking towards the door. She was almost to the exit when Sayo called out to her.

"It's not what you think." Sayo said bluntly, causing Lisa to look back.

"What do you mean?" That gave Lisa more questions than answers.

Sayo approached and passed Lisa with a slight pink dusting her cheeks. "That's all I know." She pulled the door open, stopping only for a moment to say "See you tomorrow" before leaving Lisa by herself.

Having obtained a new song, many questions, and no answers, Lisa soon followed.

* * *

Their next concert came about a month later. They were scheduled to perform three songs, with the third being their newest. Lisa had put the lyrics out of her mind since that first day; she didn't have time to worry about something Yukina didn't feel comfortable telling her. As much as that hurt, she needed to focus on using her time wisely and playing her best. At least, if Yukina was in love, she was probably happy. That was enough.

At the concert, the first two songs went as planned. Ako banged the drums, Sayo nailed her guitar parts, Rinko played wonderfully, Lisa plucked the bass, and Yukina sang beautifully.

"The next song is, Hidamari Rhodonite." Yukina introduced the new song without much fanfare, and Ako started them off.

Lisa stood in her usual spot on the right side of the stage, singing her background parts in the mic. For the first half of the song, she plucked along to the bass line. The crowd seemed to like this one; they cheered even louder than for the previous songs.

When Lisa felt a warm hand loosly grasp her left elbow during a music break, she almost jumped out of her skin. It took all of her focus to keep playing as she looked to her left. Yukina practically glowed as she tugged on Lisa's arm, gesturing towards the center of the stage. What was happening, Lisa wondered as she complied with the silent request. This wasn't part of the choreography that they rehearsed.

Yukina guided her all the way to the center of stage, stopping on the center marker where Yukina usually stood. Lisa continued playing as they moved, though without the standing microphone she couldn't sing the background part.

And then, when the chorus hit, all of the lights dimmed except a single spotlight right where Lisa stood.

"Even if we're apart, I have a place I can call home." Yukina sang next to her, though she wasn't looking at the crowd.

"You were always by my side." Instead, Yukina faced Lisa, her golden eyes shining. Lisa turned towards her, still playing but struggling to focus. The heat from the spotlight burned against her cheeks.

"The sun and the moon go on shining." The audience waved bright red penlights, cheering loudly when Yukina stepped closer to Lisa.

"My strong person, rhodonite in the sun." Was this? Could it be?

"Like a magic spell of encouragement, you whispered to me." It was.

"As long as you're here, I won't be afraid." That line, Lisa had said that line before. When the band first started, she'd talked to Yukina about how nervous she was. She'd been so worried about being the weakest player in the band, but she told Yukina that as long as Yukina was there, she wouldn't be afraid.

How could she have missed it? This song was about her! The realization came like a flash, and if her face wasn't red before it certainly was now. Yukina continued singing, backing away to turn back to the audience as the other stage lights came up.

Somehow still playing despite also being in a daze, Lisa slowly walked back to her normal spot. The song was about her. The song was about her. The song was about her. The answer bounced around even more than the questions, filling her ears with static. She hung in there though, playing the remaining bass part as best she could.

A minute later, and it was over. Yukina wished the audience goodnight, and Lisa blindly followed the others back to their dressing room. Lisa deposited her bass in its case, leaving to be cleaned until next time.

Was it a love song? Was Yukina in love with her? Lisa wasn't sure that she was ready to tackle either of those questions. Sure, she was very close with Yukina, and she liked the other girl a lot. Her day was always better when Yukina was present, and sometimes her heart beat so fast around the other girl she wondered if Yukina could hear it. But if Yukina loved her, what then? What did this all mean? She collapsed into a chair as the others got changed and packed up their belongings.

Yukina, of course, noticed Lisa's despondence. "Are you going to get changed?" She asked as she approached where Lisa sat.

"Eventually," Lisa replied with a stretch. Yukina was right, she couldn't sit there forever. She needed to do something about it, even if it led to disappointment. "You sounded amazing today Yukina!" She forced herself to perk up.

"You too." Yukina nodded once in affirmation, smiling slightly.

"About that last song…" Lisa's voice trailed off uneasily. She wasn't sure how to phrase this, or even if her guess was correct. But there was a chance... "It was about me, wasn't it?"

"Finally!" Ako exclaimed from where she was packing up her costume, startling the others.

"Shhh!" Rinko shushed her urgently, leaving the room silent while Lisa waited for Yukina to respond.

Yukina's face went through a surprising amount of emotion in preparation for her response. She looked nervous, but also determined. A slight flush settled on her face as she spoke "We wanted to show our appreciation. Thank you for being in the band." She hesitated before continuing. "I hope you like it." In Yukina speak, Lisa knew, this meant a lot more than what was actually said.

"I love it!" She threw her arms around Yukina, pulling the stiff girl into a hug. "Thank you so much!" The rest of Lisa's troublesome thoughts, of a kiss instead of a hug, were shoved aside for the time being. The band appreciated her.

For a moment, Yukina didn't move. Then, as if worried she would mess it up, she raised her arms slowly and returned the hug. "I also," She breathed almost at a whisper in Lisa's ear. "appreciate you." Lisa's heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat.

"Yukina, I also…" Lisa started to respond softly, stopping when Sayo cleared her throat.

"We need to get going soon." Sayo looked pointedly at her watch.

"Right, right." Lisa released Yukina from the hug, missing her warmth as soon as she pulled back. "We'll talk more later, ok Yukina?" There were too many prying ears here, and young ears too. Not to mention impatient guitar players.

Yukina nodded once, a genuine smile gracing her face.

They soon left the venue, splitting up to all head home. Yukina and Lisa walked home side by side, fingers gently intertwined between them.


End file.
